Social media has been a pinnacle of digital marketing for years, but with seemingly constant changes to the platforms, it can be difficult to gather the facts if you’re new to the game. While it can feel overwhelming to learn about these tools, for businesses, having a social media presence is no longer optional. Social media is how customers expect to communicate with their favorite brands, and if you’re not giving them that option, it’s a good way to quickly fall behind.
Fortunately, Port City is here to tell you everything there is to know about all things social media so you can create a marketing strategy that works for you. Below, we’ll be looking at the top social media platforms for business marketing and some of the notable features of each one.
The Top Social Media Platforms for Business Marketing
Because Facebook has been around for many years, it still continues to be the most popular social media site by far with around 2 billion monthly users. A Facebook page is something every business in every industry should have, as it provides a consolidated place for all of your information to live and be easily searchable. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, you can add your address and hours, or if you’re all online, you can provide an easy way for potential leads to chat in and ask questions. As an added bonus, Facebook has incredible SEO built right in, so even if your website doesn’t always filter to the top of the Google results page, your Facebook page likely will.
Twitter might feel like a more niche platform for businesses, and it can be, but it is still useful in a lot of regards. The main topics discussed on Twitter tend to be news, sports, and tech—so if you’re in any of these fields, being on Twitter is highly recommended. Even if you aren’t, Twitter was the OG introducer of the hashtag, which makes it easy to have people find you and to help you find them. Twitter is a common platform customers make use of to make customer service requests, too, because of it’s real-time nature, so it’s wise to have a Twitter for your business and to check your mentions often.
As a primarily visual medium, Instagram has the least in common with the other social media websites—but for businesses who tell a visual story, it can have the most impact. Businesses such as hair salons, clothing stores, and restaurants can all benefit from implementing an Instagram strategy into their marketing. Whether it’s a picture of your nightly dinner special or an amazing outfit, Instagram is a key way to show your followers what you’re doing instead of just telling them—and with hashtag and location tagging capabilities, you have plenty of opportunities to reach new audiences, too.
LinkedIn has mostly stayed true to its roots as a B2B and job hunting platform, but with recent site updates, they have continued to broaden their scope as they grow. LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for content marketing, as it provides an easy platform to connect with others in your industry or those who might need your business’ services. You can also write articles directly on the platform that live on your LinkedIn profile, so if you’re looking to establish yourself as a thought leader, LinkedIn is a good avenue to explore.
Ready to implement a social strategy of your own? Get in touch with us! We offer a variety of social media services to meet business’ needs.